Engine



s. L.'G. KNOX.

,ENGINE.-

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 1916.

1,378,875. ate ted May 24,1921.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

S. L. G. KNOX.

ENGINE. APPLICATIQN FILED NOV. 2,1916.

Patented May 24,1921.

4 SHEETSSHEIET 2.

S. L. G. KNOX.

ENGlNE.

' APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1916- Patentd May 24, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET UNITED; ,STATES;

PATEN OFFICE.

SAMUEL L. GRISWOLD- KNOX, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

T a all whom may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL LLGRIswoLo Knox, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of San Francisco, San Francisco county, State of California, have nvented useful improvements in multi-cylinder en.-

gines, and is particularly applicable; tointernal combustion engines, and has for its; object to so construct and arrange theparts of a multi cylinder engine astoadmit of the Weightof the latter being reduced to arelatively small number of pounds per "horse power, while the engine will operate with unusually high mechanical efficiencyand substantially perfect balance. To this end, the invention, in its preferred form, comprises two 1 sets of opposed reciprocating power units, preferably in the form offcyl-. indcrs and cooperating pistons, the sets being disposed in substantial parallelism, with rod connections; between the moving mem. bers of the opposedunits of each set, and a.

pivoted rocker,- of substantially pyramidal form, operatively engagingtheparallel rod connections 011 theonehand, and'connected' to a crank shaft onithe other, so as to 1mpartrotary movement to the crank shaft, the disposition and arrangement of theparts being such aspractically to counteract the heavy unbalanced forces due to the development of power in successive cylinders and the acceleration and retardation of moving parts, thereby not only reducing thefrictionalilosses but also permitting the various power-transmitting parts ofthe engine to be made lighter than is possible in the older types of engines developingthe same power.

.In, order to further enhance the mechanical efliciency of-the engine and to eonservespace and weight and efiect an economic dispose tion'ofthe parts, the crank shaft, which may be conveniently-located on one side of the cylinders, is j provided. with, counter-balanced. flywheels, and a second balance wheel, or balance wheel shaft is journaled in the engine, casing on theopposite side of thecylinder-sand at approximately the same distance. from. the cylinders as the distance.

Application filed November 2, 1916. Serial N 0; 129,064.

' ENGINE.

of said crankshaft from-the same, the axes of said fly wheels and balance wheel lying in a planeapproxlmately perpendicular to the.

Specification of Letters I'atenti- Patented Ma 24 19 21 I resultant motion of the reciprocating parts.

The fly-wheel shaft and the balance wheel shaft are drivenin opposite directions and at the same speed, and counter weights-are so.

. placed .thereon that they will "together almost entirely counterbalance, the reciprocating parts f of, the engine, and the vertical components of the counterbalancing weights on the respective shafts will balance each other, so that practically the only unbal-Y anced component of the developed forces is that due to the weightof asmall portion'ofthe; connecting rod andjrocker, which, however, is practically negligible. The invention is illustrated in the accompanyingadrawings, inwhich,

F'gure 1 's aplan view of-an'enginewith, certainof. the parts omitted;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevati'on on line 2 -2 of Fig.3; y Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional on line 8 3, of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of one of the piston rods;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same.

gig. 6 is a sideele'vation of the rocker; an Y Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are VieWS, of the rocker as observed from the several faces thereof.

Referring to-(the drawings, 10 indicates a generally box-like frame or casing which may, if desired, be formed as an integral casting, in opposite walls of which are mounted two sets of cylinders 1, 2 and, 3, 4, respectively, the cylinders of each set being in substantial alinement, and the two, sets being practically parallel As illustrated, these cylinders are indicated as the corre elevation spending elementsv of afour-cylinder inter- The parallel movement imparted to the piston rods 5 and 6 is transferred to rocker 7, which may be described as preferably pyramidal in form, having four bearing pins 8, 8 and 9, 9 disposed at the four corners of its base, and provided with a journal bearing 11 at its apex, as more particularly illustrated in F igs. (3, 7, 8 and 9. The bearing pins or gudgeons 8, 8 of said rocker are journaled in bearings 18 in the bottom of casing 10, and when rigid piston rods are used, the upper alining gudg'eons 9 find their respective hearings in sliding blocks 14, 14 which are mounted insuitable vertical guideways in enlargements 15 and 16 in the mid sections of the piston rods 5 and.6, re-

spectively. The inner faces of the enlargements 15 and 16 are cut away to permit the gudgeons 9, -9 to engage bearingsin said blocks 14, 14 as more particularly illustrated in Figs. 1, 1 and 5.

' The rocker 7 is preferably formed as an integral casting having the general. configuration illustrated in Figs. 6 to 9, inclusive, which admits of the combination of the greatest strength and minimum weight, the base of the pyramid being formed by cross braces united by suitable fins or webs while the sides are defined by inclined struts or braces which converge toward the bearing 11 which constitutes the apex. Those portions of the casting between the gudgeons and preferably the gudgeons themselves, are cored out to reduce the weight, without sacrificing the essential strength of the parts. The web connecting the inner faces of the upper strut members of the rocker is in the particular case illustrated provided with a channel or depression 7 in its upper face to accommodate the connecting rod, as will be hereinafter explained.

Mounted in the coverpiece which spans the upper edges of the casing'lO, and is strengthened by the braces 19, is a shaft 18,

having a single crank 18 which latter is disposed between the two sets of cylinders and in vertical alinement with the mid section of the rocker '7. Said crank is connected to the bearing 11 of the rocker 7 by means of a connecting rod 17, which latter is provided with a journal pin at its lower end, which engages the bearing 11, as will be understood, so that as the rocker is oscillated onits journal ends 9, by the recipro cation of the two sets of pistons, the connecting rod will impartrotary motion to the crank shaft 18. V

The interposition of this independently mounted rocker between the parallel moving piston rods and the rotating crank has the effect to combine the explosion and com pression pressures incident to the development of power with the acceleration and retardation forces, in such a way that prac ticaly only the net useful work is transmitted to the-crank,[and the frictional losses older type of engine using a connecting rod and crank for each cylinder, s -tl1at,in a four cylinder engine, for example, these parts weigh little more than one-quarter of what the total corresponding parts would weigh in the usual types,and at the same time the number of moving parts subject to friction and wear is reduced, with a corresponding increase in efficiency and economy f operation. I

In the ordinary type of engine, itis customary to attempt to partly balance the effect of the reciprocating parts by placing a counter weight in the fly-wheel rim ap proximately opposite the crank, but; this weight revolving, while the reciprocating parts move in but one direction, itself sets up an unbalanced force, in a' direction per-' pendicular to the motion of the reciprocating parts'to just the extent that it balances" the reciprocating forces, and so long as the crank shaft is in approximately the plane of motion of the reciprocating parts, this fault cannot be corrected or avoided. In accordance with the present invention, it becomes feasible, while still preserving compactness, accessibility and proper alinement of the parts, to place the crank shaft 18well above orbelow the plane of the reciprocating parts, which admits of a suitable flywheel or fly-wheels 21 being mounted upon the end or ends of the crank shaft as shown, and eachof said fly wheels may be provided with asuitable counter-weight 21. In

order to eliminate the unbalanced vertical ing, and onthe opposite side of the pistons from the crank shaft, a second shaft 25, which is connecte'd to and driven from shaft 18 by means of the gears 22, 23 and 24, which cause the shafts 18 and 25 to revolve in opposite directions, and at the same speed. Said. shaft 25 is preferably located the same distance below or above the plane of the reciprocating parts that the shaft 18 is above or below saidplane, and both shafts are preferably located in a plane perpendicular to the resultant direction of motion of the reciprocating parts. Saidshaft 25 is provided with one or more counter-weights 26, 26, as desired, which are so disposed and proportioned that when the shafts 18 and 25 revolve at the same speed and in opposite directions, said counter-weights, together with counter-weights 21, 21 will produce components counter-balancing the reciprocating parts of the engine while the other components of the respective counterweights will balance each other.

The resultant structure isa smoothly-rum ning, powerful engine that is almost perfectly balanced in all respects and which may be constructed of very low weight per.

horse power and which can be operated at very high pressures without danger of the imposition of distorting strains or wasteful frictional work on any part of the mechanism.

What I claim is: v

1. An engine comprising two sets of opposed reciprocating power units, the sets being disposed in substantial parallelism, rod connections between the moving members of opposed units of each set, a rocker journaled in spaced bearings transverse to the axis of reciprocation of the engine, sliding connections between the rocker and said rod connections, a crank shaft, and a connecting rod between the rocker and the crank shaft. p

2. An engine comprising two sets of opposed cylinders and pistons, piston rods connecting the pistons of'each opposing pair, a substantially. pyramidal-shaped rocker j ournaled on one lateral edge in spaced bearings, spaced journals at the opposite lateral edge of said rocker connected to the piston rods, a connecting rod journaled atthe apex of the rocker and a crank shaft operatively connected with the other end of said connecting rod.

3. An engine comprising two sets of opposed cylinders and pistons, a substantially pyramidal-shaped rocker journaled on one lateral edge, rods connecting the pistons to the opposite lateral edge of the rocker, a connecting rod journaled at the apex of the rocker, a crank shaft journaled on one side of the reciprocating parts of the engine and engaged by said connecting rod, counterweights on said crank shaft, a second counter-weighted shaft journaled on the opposite side of said reciprocating parts, and driving connections between said shafts to drive them in opposite directions at the same speed.

4. An engine comprising two parallel sets of opposed pistons and cylinders, rigid rods connecting the pistons of each set, a substantially pyramidal-shaped rocker journaled on one edge in theengine frame, connections between the opposite edge of said rocker and the piston rods, a crank shaft journaled on one side of the piston rods, a connecting rod tween said shafts to drive them in opposite Y directions at the same speed.

5. An engine comprising two parallel sets of opposed pistons and cylinders, rigid rods connecting the pistons of each et, a substantially pyramidal-shaped rocker journaled on one edge in the engine frame, sliding connections betwen the opposite edge of said rocker and the piston rods, a crank shaft journaled on one side of the piston rods, a connecting rod between the crank shaft and the apex of the rocker, a counter-weighted fly-wheel on the crank shaft, a second counter-weighted shaft journaled on the opposite side of the piston rods from the crank shaft and parallel with the crank shaft, and driving connections between said shafts to drive them in, opposite directions at the same speed.

6. In an internal combustion engine having four cylinders arranged in opposed pairs in substantial parallelism with pistons in the cylinders, rod connections between the two pistons of each pair, a crank shaft and a crank connected to said shaft, the combination of means for combining the effects of explosion and compression pressures with the accelerating and retarding forces andithe useful work applied to the crank substantially without twisting oreccentric strains in the piston rods and the connecting rod and crank, said means including a substan tially rigid intermediate rocker pivotally supported on the frame of the engine in spaced bearings transverse to theaxis of reciprocation and having spaced journals connected to said rod connections, and a connecting rod between said rocker and said crank.

7. An engine comprising two sets of opposed reciprocating power units, the sets being disposed in substantial parallelism, rod connections between the moving members of opposed units of each set, a pivoted rocker 7 crank shaft, a second counter-weighted shaft journaled on the opposite side of said reciprocating parts, and driving connections between said shafts to drive them in opposite directions at the same speed.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

SAMUEL L. ,GRISWOLD KNOX. 

